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Al-Harrasi, A., & Al-Badi, A. (2014). The Impact Of Social Networking: A Study Of The

Influence Of Smartphones On College Students. Contemporary Issues in Education Research , 7, 129-136.

Gikasa, J., & Grant, M. M. (2013). Mobile computing devices in higher education: Student

perspectives on learning with cellphones, smartphones & social media (Vol. 19).

Lee, Y.-K., Chang, C.-T., Lin, Y., & Cheng, Z.-H. (2014, February). The dark side of

smartphone usage: Psychological traits, compulsive behavior and technostress; A Tale of Two Sites. Computers in Human Behavior.

Meyrowitz, J. (1985). No Sense of Place: The Impact of Electronic Media on Social Behavior.

New York: Oxford University Press.

Qualman, E. (2010). Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do

Business. John Wiley & Sons.

Sarwar, M., & Soomro, T. (2013). Impact of Smartphones on Society. European Journal of

Scientific Research , 98, 216-226.

Tillman, N., Moskal, M., de Halleaux, J., Fahndrich, M., Bishop, J., Samuel, A., et al. (2012,

July). The Future of Teaching Programming is on Mobile Devices. ITiCSE '12 , 156-161.

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Put it Away

I learned how to use social media as a utility rather than make it my world. I learned that having priorities and knowing when to put the phone down and stop being on social media is important for maintaining relationships. It is easy to get sucked into the virtual world, but it is important to look up and remember the real one.

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Lonely

I learned that most people who are over active on social media are the most lonely. People will post for validation, rather than to share experiences. People don’t know how to reach out to anyone so they reach out to everyone at the same time with a status. People are less likely to respond to a status than a text because they think someone else will just do it.

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It’s not all bad...

Social media can be helpful in many ways. I can stay in touch with friends who do not go to the same school as me. I can learn from someone who is not sitting in the classroom with me. I can contact my boss last minute to let him know I will be running late. I can stay up to date on what is happening in the world. Social media allows for instant communication to take place.

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Online learning has been able to do so well due to social media. I took an online gym class in high school because I did not want to take gym. I had a teacher across the country and we communicated through the platform v-tech. This was a great experience and I got to see how online classes worked.

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This girl had sent a nude to her boyfriend that he shared with over 500 people. She was then bullied on social media on multiple platforms. She ultimately ended up committing suicide. 

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More people own a cell phone than a toothbrush.

3.7 billion people own mobile phones

3.5 billion own toothbrushes

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70% of SnapChat users are female.

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Companies ignore 70% of Facebook questions.

The whole point of having a brand presence on social media is to connect with the consumer base. Most companies just offer this as a place for consumers to engage and talk about the product. It is now a type of marketing. 

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to disconnect from the online world? Paul Miller took an entire year offline. While sometimes lost, he found himself having better conversations and creating better relationships with people. After this experience, he was able to find the right balance and could use social media as a utility rather than a lifeline. He stresses that it is all about priorities. 

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Why this topic?

I chose social media and smartphones as my monster because it impacts my life every day. I am sick and tired of everyone around me being completely absorbed into their phones when scrolling on social media. I want to form genuine relationships and have in depth conversations with people, but that becomes impossible when I have to compete with the online worlds they inhabit.

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I’m Part of the Problem

After researching this problem, I learned that I am a part of it. I have my phone on me everywhere I go and I lose my mind if I cannot find it. I know that the odds of having a message waiting for me is slim, but I need it to know what is going on. Without it, I would feel disconnected from the world my friends live in. Now that I have recognized I am part of the problem, I can help be part of the solution.

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People only post things that make them look better. Don’t be so quick to think “my life sucks,” because friends may have gone on a nice vacation, but they are now broke. There is always another side to the story. Rather than get wrapped up in what everyone else is doing, focus on the present moment.

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By 2018, 1 out of 3 people will be on Instagram.

While Twitter and Facebook are still more prevalent than Instagram, younger social media users are correlating Instagram to popularity status over other sites. 

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More than 75% of people on the internet use social media.

And we can expect more social media sites to pop up as time goes on.

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Abstract

           Social media is taking over the way people communicate with the help of smartphones. The education system is suffering from their presence inside and outside the classroom. While useful, the disadvantages cannot be ignored. The workplace is changing, some for the better and others for the worse. Communication is becoming more available on a global basis, but the amount of stress that comes with being connected all the time is more than most can handle. Social interactions are changing from face-to-face to online making it so people are feeling lonely and less connected – the direct opposite effect social media is supposed to provide. The solution to this lack of connectivity and communication is to abandon smartphones and keep older phone models to help future generations.